


Animus Nocendi

by writing_addiction



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Frame Story Structure, Freeform Dialogue, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-29
Updated: 2014-09-29
Packaged: 2018-02-19 07:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2379143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing_addiction/pseuds/writing_addiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loyalty to Shinra is a trait that has been bred into the Turks from day one, but sometimes, there are things worth sticking your neck out for.  Apparently, a certain SOLDIER and infantry cadet seem to be it for Tseng and Reno.  (A Nibelheim Incident AU in which Cloud Strife successfully kills Sephiroth at the Mt. Nibel reactor.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Animus Nocendi

**Author's Note:**

> As the tags state, this fanfic contains freeform dialogue (conversation that is not indicated by quotation marks) and a frame story structure (a story within a story). There literary techniques can be annoying to some people, but I think they lent themselves very neatly to the kind of tale I wanted to tell. If you don't care for these techniques, then please do not read this fic.

So where's the target? Reno asks, taking a casual glance at the thin folder his superior had handed him.  He's surprised to find that it's basically empty, the only contents being a single sheet of paper—the target’s personnel file—with an employee photograph paper-clipped to the corner.  Whoever the target is, he’s just a kid, his face still soft and round with baby fat.  The date of birth listed on his records puts him at sixteen, but in his photo, he doesn't even look that old.

Tseng replies, He's waiting for you in Interrogation Room 2.  I'll be handling the witness in Room 1, and the civilian is currently being given medical attention and will be detained until further notice.  The other man takes two measured steps towards Reno, and his voice drops down to a murmur.  You may use any means necessary to obtain the information.

Reno balks at that.  He’s being given free range to use any method of persuasion short of murder on a sixteen-year-old?  What's this poor son of a bitch done? he asks.

Tseng looks away for a long moment before answering.  His face looks pained for a split second before he recovers his professional detachment.  He killed Sephiroth.

* * *

When he enters the room, Reno is taken aback by how _scared_ the boy looks.  He's breathing fast, sweating buckets, and fidgeting like a toddler on the sugar high of his life.  His foot is tapping against the floor with alarming speed—Reno thinks they could probably power Midgar for a few hours with that leg of his—and his hands are switching every few seconds from their position on his lap to twisting at each other atop the small table at which he's seated.  As he approaches the boy, he can see his mouth twisting in odd shapes.  It takes a few moments before Reno realizes he's biting at his lips and the insides of his cheeks.

What a sorry fucking excuse for a man, he thinks to himself.  

He plops himself down in the other chair, leaning sloppily and flipping open the file again.  Cloud Strife, he reads aloud, sixteen years old, infantry cadet with the Department of Public Safety.  No demerits or official complaints on your record, but also no commendations from your commanding officers.  No previous active duty experience, no history of violent or angry outbursts, and no fuckin’ way you’re gonna get out of this room until I damn well know you’re tellin’ me the truth, yo.  Reno sighs, tossing the file down onto the table with a flick of his wrist.  So.  What happened at the reactor?

_After the long and arduous trek up Mount Nibel, the four of them had finally arrived at their destination.  The mako reactor here looked the same as Cloud remembered it, and yet somehow it was different.  Perhaps time had simply aged it, or perhaps being around nine reactors in Midgar had simply skewed his perception of them.  As a child, he’d always thought that mako reactors were monstrous and frightening things, producing loud, strange noises at odd hours of the night and a low, steady thrumming that grated at his ears and nearly drove him crazy in the silence of his small bedroom.  He’d largely grown accustomed to the noise in Midgar, so much so that his mind tended to tune it out, and the Nibelheim reactor suddenly seemed small in comparison to the whole group of them in Midgar._

_Or maybe it was just that he had grown since he’d left home.  Everything here seemed smaller than it had been when he left._

_“I want to go inside and look, too!” Tifa exclaimed.  Her excitement about the whole experience was in stark contrast to General Sephiroth’s look of boredom and mild annoyance.  Wasn’t it odd that Shinra would send someone like the General to inspect a mako reactor, anyway?  But it wasn’t Cloud’s place to question the President’s decisions.  He had been ordered to accompany SOLDIERs First Class Sephiroth and Zack Fair on this mission, and his only duty was to follow those orders to the best of his ability._

_Sephiroth, who was already half-way up the steps leading to the entrance, turned to face the girl.  “This a top-secret facility,” he said.  “Non-Shinra personnel are not permitted inside.”_

_“But—!”_

_Before Tifa could protest any further, Sephiroth turned to face Cloud.  His heart jumped into his throat, and he internally begged the General not to voice the order he had a feeling was about to be given him.  “Keep the young lady safe,” was all he said, but to Cloud, who had heard such ‘polite requests’ every day, the meaning of that simple sentence was clear: “Keep the young lady from entering the reactor at all costs.”_

_He frowned beneath his helmet.  He had to stay with Tifa.  And potentially talk to Tifa.  And maybe even physically stop her—lay hands on her even!—so she wouldn’t barge in to a restricted area.  Not that he wasn’t glad to see her again, but he was so ashamed that he hadn’t made it into SOLDIER yet.  He hadn’t planned on coming home again until he could say that he’d accomplished his goal of joining the most elite, prestigious military unit in the world.  There was no doubt in his mind that everyone in town would be disappointed in him if they learned of his failure, and the longer he spent with Tifa—_

Not that listening to you angst isn’t interesting or whatever, Reno drawls, flicking his hand in a dismissive gesture intended to convey his complete lack in interest in hearing some punk-ass cadet’s self-flagellating whines, but get to the fuckin’ point, yo.

_As Zack and the General disappeared inside the reactor, Tifa made a rush for the stairs.  Cloud jumped in front of her, holding out his hand to stop her, and the girl pouted but made no further attempts to gain access to the reactor.  The silence between them as they waited for the SOLDIER members to come back was awkward and stifling.  After what seemed like hours of waiting, Cloud saw Sephiroth emerge from the reactor, followed closely by another man he didn’t recognize.  He used the word “man” in the loosest possible terms.  The thing that followed Sephiroth out of the reactor had to be a monster, because even though it’s basic shape was humanoid, it had a big black wing sticking out of its back that it used to fly off into the sky, and the coloring of its clothes, skin, and hair looked faded somehow, like a picture that when left outside gets bleached by the sun._

Which side?

Excuse me?

Reno rolls his eyes.  Which side was the wing on?

Is...is that important?

Would I be fuckin’ askin’ about it otherwise?

The boy’s brow furrows as he glances down at his hands.  He’s silent for a moment, and Reno can nearly see the metaphorical smoke pouring out his ears as he tries to remember.  Reno sits up straight, balancing his weight on his elbows as he leans across the table.  You can forget ever makin’ SOLDIER if you can’t even pay attention to your goddamn surroundings.  Which side of its body was—?

The left side! the boy finally exclaims.  

Reno makes a mental note of which wounds he can put pressure on again, should the need arise later on.  Go on, kid.

 _When the monster was gone, Sephiroth descended the stairs, but as he walked closer to them—though “stomped” might be a better word—Cloud could see how angry he was.  He tried to ask the General if he was okay, but no sooner had he opened his mouth to utter the words than the General had thrown out an arm against his chest, tossing him out of his path.  Tifa ran towards him then, fists raised and prepared to fight even though she stood no real chance against a man who literally led the entirety of Shinra’s fighting forces.  Through a slight haze of pain Cloud managed to pick himself up off the ground and throw his body in front of Tifa’s before Sephiroth’s blow struck home.  Even through his uniform and its armor, Cloud felt another stroke of pain rush through his body, white-hot and searing like a blade composed of flames being shoved right down his spine_.  

 _He lost consciousness for a while after that, and the next thing he remembered was being drug by Tifa back to town as Zack watched their backs, being leaned up against a wall and hardly able to stand.  He remembered Tifa and Zack having a short, terse conversation, but he wasn’t sure he knew exactly what words they exchanged.  Breathing was still difficult, and he wondered vaguely if Sephiroth had broken any of his ribs.  There wasn’t a doctor in Nibelheim, or at least not a_ real _doctor like there was in Midgar, so he tried not to think about how long it would be until he could get medical attention._

_Zack helped him up to their room at the inn, unloading him onto his bed at the end of the small room, and he promptly passed out.  He was unsure how long he’d slept, but when he came to, Zack was sitting right next to him.  “Tifa’s safe,” he said quietly, “don’t worry.”_

_“If only I were SOLDIER...” Cloud lamented, hanging his head in shame.  His friend’s demeanor changed at that remark, and it was impossible not to notice.  “...Zack?”_

_A frown took hold of his face.  “SOLDIER is like a den of monsters,” he pronounced.  “Don’t go inside.”_

Huh.  Those were his exact words?  A den of monsters?

Yes, Cloud replied with a nod.

You sure?

Yes.

_Cloud couldn’t control his curiosity at that remark.  Shifting on the bed so he could get a better look at Zack’s face, he asked, “What happened?”_

_A look of confusion stole over his face, and Cloud thought he saw tinges of anger and betrayal as well.  “I don’t know, man.  I_ thought _I knew, but...”  After a pause, he let himself fall back onto the bed.  “By the way,” he continued, “do you know Tifa?”_

_“Sort of.”_

_“Talked to her?”_

You know, Strife, Reno commented lightly with a glance at the fingernails of his right hand, if this were any other day, I would love to hear _all_ about the piece of ass you got on company time, but seeing as you’re supposed to be tellin’ me how the fuck you managed to take down Sephiroth all by your lonesome, I suggest we skip the details of how great a lay she was and focus on the business at hand.

_The next morning, someone in town told him that Sephiroth had last been seen heading towards the Shinra Manor, so Zack and Cloud went to look for him there.  They found him in the basement, in what looked to be a research laboratory, and he had his nose stuck so firmly in one books that he barely noticed when they entered the room.  He was muttering to himself, something about the Jenova Project, reciting dates and facts, and it was almost frightening how much energy he was pouring into the endeavor.  Sephiroth walked back down a long hallway lined with books, but Zacked stopped Cloud as he moved to follow.  “Let’s leave him be,” Zack said.  “I think this is something he needs to work out on his own.”_

_They left the manor then, both of them hoping that some time alone would help the General to piece together whatever it was that he was researching, and—_

_Well, but that part wasn’t important._

Finally learning, huh, Spiky?

_He stayed down there for almost a week.  On the morning of the seventh day, Cloud awoke to the smell of smoke and the loud crackle of flames.  He rushed outside to see what was going on, to see if he could help save anyone, but it was too late.  The fire was raging, already spread to every building, consuming everything in its path.  Tears came to his eyes, from all the ash in the air, of course, and he found it nearly impossible to breathe.  Out of nowhere, someone barreled into him, knocking him off balance.  It was Sephiroth, the rage in his eyes blazing brighter and more intensely than the conflagration around them, and it was only then that he noticed the fire materia the General held in his hand._

Reno leans back in his seat again, staring at the cadet long and hard, testing how long the boy would hold eye contact.  He does so for longer than the average target he interrogated, but only just.  Figures.  So, to clarify, Reno interrupts, reaching behind him and swiftly taking hold of his EMR.  He’ll admit to himself that it’s mostly for melodramatic effect.  The kid’s been singing like a canary, and unless he clams up or gets shady on the details soon, Reno won’t have to use his weapon.  You’re stating on the official record that General Sephiroth is responsible for the razing of Nibelheim?

The boy hesitates, his eyes searching to make sure that the way Reno had phrased his sentence agreed with his version of the events, and it’s the first sensible thing he’d seen the kid do all day.  Reno had to give him props for that; most men in Public Safety aren’t as careful.  It’s so prevalent, in fact, that Tseng has devised a method of speaking during interrogations that seemed harmless enough, but that, on paper, safeguarded himself and the company while irrevocably damning the target.  He didn’t use it on everyone, of course; but if they knew going in that the target was guilty, well, the boss liked to make sure all the I’s got dotted and the T’s crossed, yeah?

It was like watching a magician at work with the way Tseng could manipulate his targets.  They started out with a clear picture of what they were trying to say, and he would pretend to be confused about the specifics, making the target repeat himself in such minute detail that the larger picture was lost altogether.  He would lead the target with his questions, making sure to phrase his speech carefully in order to distort his words only a little at a time.  He would, in essence, trick the target into confessing and then, while still mostly confused about what he was trying to say, get him to sign an official statement.  It’s like a damn ballet, misdirection and blatant untruth dancing to a quick-paced tune of fear, confusion, and ignorance, and it’s the most beautiful thing Reno has ever witnessed.

And it’s too fucking bad that he hasn’t mastered it himself, because it could come in handy right now.

The cadet looks up at him again and nods slowly.  When he speaks, his voice has a certain measured quality to it that Reno can’t quite understand.  Yes, it was the General.  He set fire to Nibelheim.

Reno sighs, and something possess him to open the boy’s file again.  Ah, there it is.  Nibelheim is his hometown.  He almost feels sorry for him, but then he remembers that he doesn’t actually give a shit about this kid or his life story.

Strife turns away.  I couldn’t _do_ anything, he whispers, his hands covering his face.  I couldn’t save anybody.  By the time I woke up, everything was already burning and everyone was already dead.  Maybe if Zack and I had tried harder to help the General, he wouldn’t have—

Reno stands quickly, the backs of his knees pushing his chair away from him and toppling it over in his haste, and slams his weapon against the table between them.  The boy jumps, letting out a small exclamation at the suddenness of Reno’s outburst.  His eyes are wide and scared again, and he wraps his arms around himself like he’s trying to disappear, trying to force his body to shrink until there is nothing left of it.

Listen here, kid! Reno bellows, pressing his free hand flat against the table.  I’m not here to listen to you bitch and moan.  I’m gettin’ real sick of all this filler bullshit you keep feedin’ me.  I don’t care about the coulda, woulda, shouldas!  I don’t care about how much your feelings got hurt, I don’t care about your goddamn survivor’s guilt, and I sure as hell don’t care about anything that comes out of your mouth unless it’s the truth.  Now, you’re gonna tell me how it is that some boneheaded, scrawny, useless piece of shit infantry cadet murdered a man who was taller, stronger, and way more skilled in battle.  We don’t exactly have all day here, so cut the crap and tell me what happened!

The boy doesn’t reply, and for a moment, Reno thinks he’s being mocked.  Strife’s shoulders are shaking slightly, and he’s almost proud of the kid that he can laugh at a person who has the skill and authority to torture him until he gets what he’s come after, but no, it’s not laughter bubbling out of the boy.  He’s crying.

And that’s the last straw.  Reno turns on his heel and walks out.  Tseng is there to greet him with a look of stern disapproval, but Reno doesn’t fucking care.  We’re takin’ a break, he throws over his shoulder as he leaves the little suite of rooms that have become as familiar as home to him over the years.

Tseng follows him halfway down the hall.  And just when do you plan on coming back and finishing your assignment? he asks.

Reno throws up a hand and gestures vaguely.  Call me when the target’s not blubberin’ anymore.

* * *

The kid is sleeping when Reno reenters the room, lying against the table with his head cradled in his arms.  He looks even younger like this, and Reno wonders how this overgrown infant had ever made it to any position in the army at all.

Come on, rise and shine, princess, he calls out, tapping the cadet on the head.  The boy starts and apologizes, rubbing at his eyes and face as he tries to regain his alertness.  Who the fuck falls asleep in an interrogation room?  The Turk resumes his seat at the other side of the table.  So, kid.  You ready to finish this thing, yo?

_When Cloud got to the reactor, his first instinct was to go further inside, to the place where he heard Sephiroth talking to someone.  He was spewing nonsense about being the chosen one, being the rightful ruler of the Planet, and when Cloud saw Zack’s sword plunged into the floor near the doorway, he knew what he had to do.  He picked up the sword, ran up the pipe to the General, and stabbed him through the back.  The tip of the weapon cracked the glass container in front of Sephiroth, and as he turned around in shock, Cloud caught sight of the monstrous-looking thing it held.   Suspended in liquid, the thing looked like a movie prop rather than anything real.  Cloud wondered briefly what it was supposed to be.  Surely it wasn’t human, was it?  Its skin was blue and it didn’t have any limbs, and even though it had a face like a human’s, Cloud thought it could only be some kind of monster, like the man with the wing he had seen before.  Creatures like that weren’t natural, and if Sephiroth was one of them as well (he’d been calling this abomination his mother, after all), then he needed to be stopped at all costs._

_“Keep the young lady safe” he’d said, and Cloud was doing just that._

_When the deed had been done, Cloud rushed back to Tifa’s side.  There was nothing he could do help her, he didn’t have any materia or restorative items, and yet he cradled her in his arms anyway.  For an earth-shattering few second, he thought it was too late, but she finally took a shallow, shuddering breath, reassuring him that, at least for the moment, she was still alive.  He’d made a promise to her a long time ago to come for her if she ever needed saving, and if he failed to do that as well…_

_He heard footsteps from above him, and he looked up to see Sephiroth stumbling out of the chamber.  The wound in his abdomen was still bloody but not actually bleeding anymore.  He’ carried the decapitated head of the monster from behind the glass in one hand, and he sent Cloud a glare that was nearly deadly on its own.  “How dare you,” he began, but Zack, still lying on the blood-covered steps where Cloud had seen him earlier, stirred enough to push himself up and speak._

_“Cloud,” he gasped, the pain obvious in his voice, “finish Sephiroth off.”_

Reno grunts at that.  You’re sayin’ that SOLDIER First Class Zack Fair gave you a verbal order to eliminate Sephiroth?

The boy shrugs.  I don’t know if I would call it an order exactly, but we both knew that it was either kill or be killed at that point.

So are you claimin’ self-defense?  Because _I_ think rammin’ a giant-ass broadsword into him first is a pretty good reason for him to come after you.

It wasn’t just that, the boy argued.  You didn’t see him in there.  He was insane.  He burned down a whole town and slaughtered all of its inhabitants.  He was talking to that—that thing like it was a real person, calling it his mother and telling it he would ‘make her proud.’  He wasn’t the real General Sephiroth anymore.  If I hadn’t stopped him, who knows what else he would have done?

All these goddamn cadets who want to get into SOLDIER need to chill out with their savior complexes.  Continue, Reno says, his voice clipped and short.  

_Cloud ran at Sephiroth and tried to strike him again, but this time, the man was prepared.  He blocked Cloud’s swing expertly, flipping him like a ragdoll into the chamber behind him.  Sephiroth stalked over to where he had collapsed and thrust his impossibly long blade straight through his chest.  “Don’t test me,” he growled, lifting Cloud effortlessly off the ground._

_The exact order of the proceeding events were hazy to him at best.  All he remembered clearly was Sephiroth lying on the metal floor, curled around the dismembered head of Jenova and bleeding profusely.  He was so still for such a long time, still breathing but only just, and it wasn’t until Cloud felt himself take a step forward that he realized he was holding Sephiroth’s sword.  His own blood mixed with the General’s at the tip of the blade, and the sight made him nauseous.  He nearly vomited when faced with the evidence of what he had done, surveying his surroundings with an odd sense of detachment mixed with horror and disbelief._

_“Mother...” Sephiroth moaned, and Cloud was horrified to see a grin appear on the man’s face.  “I’ll make them pay, Mother.  I promise.”_

_He tried to stand once again, and the action was powered only by the sheer strength of his will.  His body was in the last stages of dying, and here he was, still trying to...do whatever it was he was trying to do.  With a determined nod to himself, Cloud raised the entire length of the blade and brought it down with as much force as he could muster against the General’s neck._

_He did vomit then, dropping the Masamune and falling onto all fours.  Even after his stomach had emptied its contents, he continued gagging and retching at the sight of the General’s headless body just lying there.  That had seemed like the best way to end it, so that Cloud could be sure he was actually dead and not pretending to be so he could have the element of surprise to exact revenge, but in hindsight, it seemed a disturbingly fitting end for Sephiroth to have been beheaded just like his “mother.”_

And the rest, as they say, Reno interrupts, is history.  He glanced up at the ceiling, shaking his head in disbelief, and couldn’t repress a dark chuckle.  That was impressive, yo.  Somebody needs to reconsider promoting you to SOLDIER.  You’ve got the balls for it, no doubt about that.

The boys is quiet for a long time, so long that Reno begins to think he’s about to start crying again.  When he does finally speak, his words surprise the Turk.  After what I saw, I don’t want anything to do with SOLDIER anymore.  Zack’s right; it _is_ a den of monsters.

* * *

After confirming with Tseng that Zack Fair’s and Tifa Lockhart’s version of events match up Cloud’s, they report their findings to the President.  Reno’s glad that the details have all lined up as well as they had.  He may be a little screwed up, but there’s no doubt in Reno’s mind anymore that the Strife kid had acted wisely.  Photographs from the reactor and what’s left of the town itself, along with other evidence collected from the scene, all pointed to the truth of the tale he’d been told, and Reno couldn’t say he wouldn’t have done the same if he had been in that position.

Tseng relays the details of the incident in as succinct a way as possible, and Reno has to admire the way that the boss has with words.  He makes sure that, while he does not tell a lie, Sephiroth’s violent insanity and the boy’s bravery (and most importantly, his innocence) are well-documented, the primary aspect of the conversation.  They have both come to the conclusion that while a cover-up of the incident itself and Shinra’s involvement in it will of course be necessary, there is no reason to take any disciplinary action against Fair or Strife.  Tseng’s opinion on what to do about the girl differs from his own, but ultimately it doesn’t matter.  That’s not their decision to make.  The fat man in front of them will make that call, and whatever he decides, they’ll do.

Oh, just kill all three of them, President Shinra remarks with a dismissive gesture.  The tone of his voice denotes his boredom with the subject and his slight irritation at being bothered with the matter at all, as if the subjects’ termination should be so obvious a choice that he resented having to tell them to do it in the first place.

But Mr. President, Tseng objects calmly, there’s no reason to have Fair or Strife killed.  They did nothing wrong.

That boy killed my pocket aces, he explains, folding his hands over his rotund belly.  What do you think’s gonna happen to our reputation now?  What if those those damn cunts in Wutai start another rebellion?  With Genesis and Angeal defected and Sephiroth dead, we don’t stand a chance.  I won’t have that little bastard getting off scot-free when he could single-handedly be responsible for the downfall of my company.

That’s...understandable, sir, Tseng says, though it’s fairly obvious to anyone with a brain that he thinks otherwise.  However, terminating Fair is surely unwise.  Even if he’s only one man, he’s still a SOLDIER First Class.  His combat record is flawless, and he’s always acted in the best interests of the company.  His contributions in the Wutai conflict alone—

The President rises from his chair and turns away from them, gazing out the window behind his desk.  Reno can’t see his face, but there is no second-guessing his body language or his dark, threatening voice, a tone he only uses when his authority is being questioned or disrespected.  Are you suggesting that a man who called SOLDIER a ‘den of monsters’ and who ordered a Public Safety cadet to murder the greatest military weapons Gaia has ever seen deserves anything less than death?

Tseng does not reply.  No one speaks for several minutes, and the silence is so deafening that Reno’s ears start to ring.  What about the girl? Reno asks.

Kill her, the President repeats.  She knows too much.  She’s a liability to this company that I will not tolerate.  She’s got no home anymore, and wherever she goes from here, there’s no telling how much sensitive information she could potentially leak.  People get stupid and overly reactive when frightened, and a revolt is absolutely the last thing we need right now.  We can’t disturb the status quo, so the fewer people who know about this mess, the better.

The two Turks are dismissed, and even though they have their orders, one silent glance between them is all it takes for them to agree that they cannot carry them out.

* * *

Two days later, President Shinra is found dead in his office.  The Turks carry out the investigation with their usual haste and accuracy, and when AVALANCHE is blamed for the man’s death, the other employees readily accept it.  If they have any theories or suspicions to the contrary, they do not voice them.  They all know the price to be paid for questioning the actions of the Turks.

In the ensuing confusion of Rufus’s sudden rise to power, all documentation regarding the Nibelheim Incident is lost.  When Rufus asks about the missing files, Tseng and Reno have no explanation, and he makes no further inquiries on the subject.  He only requests that they swear to him they will not become a hindrance in years to come.  They are both aware that he is no longer referring to misplaced documents.

They won’t, Tseng says.  

And if they do?

There’s a beat of silence pregnant with meaning and implication, and it makes Reno internally cringe.  If they do, he replies with a shrug, leaning his EMR against one shoulder, I’ll tie up the loose ends myself.

* * *

Reno sees Strife and Fair years later in the Sector 7 slums while he’s on a recon job, talking to Tifa Lockhart and another man who’s widely known to be the head of AVALANCHE.   The Turk follows the four of them to a bar called Seventh Heaven and rejoices.  This is exactly the kind of opportunity they’ve been looking for to get some more intel on the terrorist group, and he’s not going to let it go to waste.  He doesn’t approach the building this time, but rather returns to his original mission and makes note of what he’s seen in his report.  This garners interest from Rufus, and with the kind of stealth and efficiency only found within the Department of Administrative Research, they have a spook on the inside in less than a month.

His informant reports back to him one day that the group is planning to bomb several of Midgar’s mako reactors, and that Zack and Cloud have volunteered to use their knowledge as Shinra employees to help them place the explosives for maximum effect.  Reno informs Tseng, who informs Rufus, and when the President orders the plate above Sector 7 to be dropped, eradicating the terrorists and the traitors in one fell swoop, Reno volunteers for the assignment.

And as the plate comes crashing down, there is not a single drop of remorse or pity left inside him.

 

 

 


End file.
